In a nutshell

Hello blog world.

It has been almost 8 months since I wrote my last blog post. A terribly long time to be away from one's blog don't you think? At the very least it is a sure fire way to lose all your blog readers. While I didn't intend to do that, I'm sure my switch from blogging platform Typepad to Blogger last March (2014) didn't help in that arena as well. Good thing I'm not in it for the readership.

In spite of my effort, I will press on in blog land, in one form or another. It's a nice space to come to. I know the blogging thing has morphed over the past few years. People don't read them as much, and a lot of the new ones that pop up now are super techie with tons of advertising. It's all fine with me, people have to do what they feel led to do, after all no one size fits all.

June 2014

July 2104

Sept 2014

Oct 2014

Jan 2015

Jan 2015


For me however, I think I will keep this space simple. When I first started this blog - back in 2007, it was for me an online journal of sorts. A place where I could look back and see some of my accomplishments and also capture snippets of my life with 4 kids - those young magical years filled with sweet times together. I love looking back on those years in my blog; mostly because I have been lousy at putting photo albums together and  those images of my little kidlets are readily available.

So if this is the case - keeping the blog alive - where have I been for the past year? Well, as with all things best intentions get laid aside for practicality, and I am a practical girl. The short version is the hubby and I continued our 6 year long renovation on the duckyhouse. We started in July optimistically thinking we could rip it off in 3 weeks. Excuse me while I pause and laugh my face off. Hahahaha. Good one. Well it lasted until Christmas, mostly. Then I feverishly threw the house together for Christmas, including wrapping gifts until 4:00am on Christmas Day. Lame I know. Such was my year in 2014. I was very happy to see the end of it and start a new year.

So far this year has been good. I'm a month into 2015 and I finally got my word -  "fearless". Yup, I'm planning on being fearless this year. I might need help with it once in a while but fearless it is. I've got a few big decisions looming and perhaps, just perhaps being fearless will help me get to where I need to go.

Photos are from my instagram account June 2014 - Jan 2015

knitting, notes, etc

Are you in the midst of endless winter like we are? Argh! I really don't mind winter and having grown up in the Canadian Prairies I'm a big season fan, but this winter is trying my patience. *so. much. cold. so. much. snow.* Proof you say? Well here is my son who is 5'9" shovelling snow at the back door. It's getting hard to know what to do with the white stuff.

It hasn't helped that our crew is sick yet again. Hence my absence from the computer. We are taking it all in stride and doing our best to keep our spirits up. Even if that means mid day basking in the sun from the indoors. For a brief moment it gives me the illusion that everything is green and growing outside. Yes I'm a dreamer.

in my corner...

...summer is officially here and that means so many, many good things:

...the weather is giving us beautiful warm days of sunshine sprinkled in with overcast days of shade and even a sprinkling or two of rain.



...our friends have returned and they have brought with them new little ones to love and admire.







...our school year is ending today and now we turn our attention to some serious outside play - bring it on!



...the garden has been planted and the veggies are growing, the flower pots are blooming and green is always our favourite colour.



...soccer season has ended for the summer, bike riding is a daily occurrence, we've made one trip to emergency so far and popsicles continue to make an appearance in the grocery cart.



...I am excited that mr. duckyhouse will officially be on holidays for almost all of July in which we will soak up his goodness with lots of play, beaching, day trips, and yes even some more renovations.





...I am picking up my camera again after a couple difficult months and realizing that it is through the lens that I am inspired to live a more grateful life.



...hoping your corner is filled with grateful memories too!

knitting imitates life

I've been spending a fair amount of time knitting this past winter. I have a relationship with knitting akin to an old friend.  There are weeks when we don't see each other and then we reconnect and it is like no time has passed.  This winter I picked up the sticks in December after an entire two season absence and together we have been inseparable. It started with socks, then knucks, dish cloths for an unsuspecting friend who thought she was giving me some cotton yarn (sorry no photos) and then a long overdue scarf that I started back in 2008 that had since been frogged due to lack of motivation.



On a roll I picked up the lonely balls of hacho, found my pattern "the juan scarf" and began the simple cast on once again.  Things felt different this time around, the repetitive 12 row pattern which seemed to give me so much angst two years ago was flowing so much easier.  In no time I was finished and then casted on for the matching "tintiri hat".  I did have to adjust the pattern slightly because I always find knitted hats a bit snug. And just in case you're wondering, my bean isn't any bigger (or smaller) than the next gals.



I dare say the ease that I've been knitting with lately is due to a renewed place of peace I've been making with the current state of chaos I live in. There are still designated work zones in my home and tools strewn about and I'm learning to live with it.  It's been over 2 years now, it will be 3 in the summer since we started this renovation journey.  If we were independently wealthy things would have been finished in record time, however being a stay-at-home/home-educating/part time working mum does not lend itself to wealth.  Instead we've been working at what feels like a snails pace (at times), steadily tackling the jobs in the limited free days we have ~ that translates to about 2-3 days every two weeks for anyone wondering what's taking us so long.



And so here I am, end of February still with no studio to speak of or a completed home. I find myself setting work schedules and then readjusting the time frame once again to make room for things unseen: spontaneous family outings on days we should be working, lazy days of mid-winter when we feel like we just can't spend another moment working on it (the house) or planning it. The distractions are so very frequent and at the end of the day what does it matter?  Life goes on right? Finding the enjoyment in today is most important, whatever that days looks like: painting, sledding, knitting.  Truthfully it's a better way to live and I wish I discovered it a couple of winter's back. I hear Morpheus (from the Matrix) whispering to me: "Unfortunately, no one can be told what the {insert issue} is. You have to see it for yourself."





Much like knitting, the end (of renovating) feels so very near and at the same time so very far off... and I keep my knitting close for those many moments when I should could be working on a house project but "don't feel like it".  I pick up the familiar sticks and lay a few more rows down.  Some days it looks like I'll be knitting forever and then bam, I'm at the end.  I suspect that is how real life works too.

toys

Let's hear it for new toys! 

I finally broke down and did the grown up thing and purchased an external flash and remote for my camera.

I'll be back when the novelty wears off, xxx. 

circa 1973

I was 5 years old - today - all those years ago.



In two weeks time my wee girlies will celebrate their 5th birthday and then in (quite) a few more years they will be looking back from where I am today.  Life keeps going on, birthdays keep coming and going.  If any of you have figured out how to slow down time be sure to share your secret...okay? 

I get around

I abandoned all effort at sewing last week.  You have to actually stay home to do that sort of thing.  We're on the run it seems and all paths lead away from the house.  The construction that was started recently is getting really loud.  The kind of loud that you can't simply close a door to soften.

Hammers, saws and compressors can give you quite the headache in the early hours of the morning and I've learned that coffee is not always able to set the world in order, nor is staying home to see if the pounding headache will alleviate while the pounding goes on.

So it goes and so do we.  We are adventuring ourselves out the door each day making the most of our fab winter weather for a little time outdoors and even some inside, like our local children's museum. Where all things play is a social expectation.

Oh and if I run into you out and about I'll be that mumma with 4 kids, coffee and camera in tow, probably humming that tune...you know "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?  everywhere you go?".  It really is you know.

Now try and get that song out of your head, it's stuck in mine.

happy fall & halloween

The weather was incredibly beautiful yesterday.  We couldn't help but put everything on hold to go outside and enjoy the afternoon.   I haven't spent a lot of time outside with my camera over the past summer so it was lovely to stop at one of our favorite spots, stroll through the woods and take an endless supply of photos.  Good times.

:: tree huggers ::



:: fall fooling around ::



:: fall grasshopper?? (does he know what is arriving any day now??) ::



:: fall shadows ::



:: fall sleeping ::



Today promises to be a busier day as I finish up Halloween costumes in preparation for our evening celebration. The kids are looking forward to walking through a new neighborhood and meeting people we haven't had a chance to make acquaintance with yet.  By early evening we will return home for hot chocolate and snacks while I sort through their endless supply of sugar & tooth decay.  After that we will snuggle their daddy, give him gifts and wish him a very Happy Birthday as he so generously shares his day with so many other distracting events. But don't worry too much for him, we will be having a proper dinner and cake for him the next weekend.

Wishing you and yours a very safe, warm and Happy Halloween.

welcome

If you are reading this then you made it over. Welcome to my new home.  I hope you like your visit and find some inspiration here or at the very least something to read while you are drinking your morning, afternoon or evening coffee.  So why the move you ask?  I blame it on the house move.  Our new surroundings are chalked full of nature, water and more nature.  My twin girls have aptly named our new homestead the "ducky house" and can not speak about our home without first mentioning the "ducky house," so why fight it.  New house, new virtual home, it all makes sense to me.

Did I forget to mention last month that I turned 40?  Whoa, the start of another decade, that feels like a momentous change to me.  And what better way to celebrate than to chop off those locks and start with a new 'do.'  I noticed that I was slipping into that "always in a ponytail" hairstyle.  After a while I was trying to figure out what exactly was the point of all that hair if I wasn't going to let it be free (moving plus home renos can be really hard on the style ritual you know).  The obvious solution:

:: before ::

  

:: after ::

I haven't had serious layers since the 80's.  So far I'm liking it and as long as I get up in the morning and do the style thing I should be safe from looking like the school bus driver lady. 

I'll be back with more on the 'ducky house' and stuff.  Oh and one more thing, don't forget to change your links to my new blog address, ttfn.